Review: Odin Sphere

Odin Sphere
for Playstation 2

Sometimes, when a new game console comes around, the last line of releases for its predecessor tends to be overlooked. It’s an unfortunate thing, too, because that is usually when some of the best games are released. Now that the PS3 has come to replace the PS2, games like Odin Sphere don’t tend to make the limelight. It really should though, because this is probably one of the most beautifully illustrated RPG-action-adventure games to be released for the console. With absolutely huge storylines and an innovative way of reviewing events that have happened along your adventure, this game has the potential to keep you entertained for weeks. Odin Sphere plays a bit like your average beat-‘em-up game, only pumped with steroids for awesome gameplay and oil paints for the visual polish. I’d highly recommend this game to any PS2 owning RPG fan.

flOw for Playstation 3

flOw has been labeled under many categories, but I don’t think any of those labels really fits. The basic idea of flOw has you controlling a sub-microscopic looking creature, collecting items and growing longer flagellum in the process. Along the way, you will come across other creatures that you will absorb, get distracted by, or interacted with in some way. To control your creature, you simply tilt the Sixaxis controller in various directions. Gameplay wise, you could compare it to Pac-Man, Geometry Wars, or maybe even some kind of interactive screen saver, but you would only be partially right.

In flOw, the visuals feature simple colors and soothing yet fulfilling music that seems to suit the game perfectly. While most on-screen characters seem simplistic in design, when in motion they move more gracefully than anything you have ever seen in a game, and as you progress the colors will draw you in just as much as the characters you are controlling. There is no real way to describe flow, as you have no scoring system, now heads-up-display, and no real way to end the game-it really is something you have to play and experience yourself to form an opinion about. Some may hate it, as it may seem pointless, and some may love it for the same reason, but for the $7.99 you pay to download it from the Playstation network, it certainly won’t kill you to try it, so please do.